the backyard was glowing with warm string lights with laughing and talking over the clink of dishes and the hum of an old holiday vinyl playing low on the outdoor speakers

finneas had helped maggie throw this party together. you werent fully sure what it was for. the details had gotten fuzzy the second you got stuck on the way your suit sleeves kept folding wrong near the buttons

you stood a few feet away from the table where billie was talking to her cousin, ezra. he was tall with messy curly hair and faded tattoos on his forearms. they were deep in a conversation about some recording gear

meanwhile you were focused on a single fraying string on your sleeve cuff. you picked at it, tucked it under, then untucked it again while your mind was going through completely unrelated thoughts like 'was it going to rain tomorrow?' 'how many steps have i taken today?' 'was billies eyeliner smudging or did she just look perfect like that on accident?'

ezra glanced over at you mid sentence "hey y/n what do you think? youd probably know. youre the smart one between you two right?" he was smiling and had a teasing tone

you didnt answer because you didnt even hear him. you were now looking at the seam between your buttons and the little piece of fabric under it, feeling the texture

billie looked over "babe" her voice was gentle, not wanting to interrupt too loudly

you didnt blink and ezra glanced at her, chuckling "i think we lost her"

"she does this" billie said softly "hang on"

she leaned over and lightly tapped your arm "baby?"

you blinked up suddenly like you were surfacing from underwater "hm?"

she smiled at you with her head tilted like she already knew exactly where your mind was "ezra asked you something?"

your eyebrows went up as you straightened your posture "oh sorry, what was it?"

ezra let out a small but kind laugh "all good. i was saying i heard youre the smart one. just wondering if you know anything about latency in vocal layering setups. finneas told me youre scary good with audio software."

"oh yeah. i mean it depends what youre running but the tricks usually in how the preamp and daw talk to each other. if its not lined with your interface buffer rate itll all lag out"

he raised his eyebrows in an impressed way "damn. billie wasnt lying."

billie was looking at you with that soft smile she saved for when she was proud as she whispered near your ear "you good now?"

you gave a small nod "yeah. sorry. it was that sleeve."

she laughed lightly "i know. you looked like you were about to enter a fabric spiral"

you nudged her with your shoulder "i hate you"

"you love me."

"i do."